Michals, Xaverian get through

Xaverian thought it had yesterday’s Division 1 South first-round game won twice on goals waved off by the officials. Eddie Pratt made sure there was no doubt in the end.

Pratt scored the only goal in the shootout to give the No. 13 Hawks a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Duxbury at Gallo Ice Arena in Bourne. The Green Dragons were unsuccessful on all five tries, each time failing to beat Xaverian junior goalie Matt Michals low to his stick side.

With the win, Xaverian (9-7-5) advances to face No. 5 Marshfield in the quarterfinals tomorrow night at Gallo.

“We thought we had a couple of goals, but the ref explained why so we just kept going,” said Xaverian coach Dave Spinale. “Matty is a two-year starter, so focused, and has been great for us all year . . . he is such a true competitor. Duxbury could have sent all 20 guys, but he was so dialed in.”

The Hawks jumped to the lead when John Greeley crossed the slot and fired top-shelf just inside the far post at 6:41 of the first period. The score remained 1-0 throughout the second despite Duxbury dominating that frame — owning a 9-4 shot advantage and figuring out the physical play of the Hawks along the boards.

Just before the period ended, though, it seemed as if Mike Brennan gave Xaverian a 2-0 lead inside of the horn. But the officials waved off the tally, coming from a faceoff with 2.6 seconds left, as the green light shone nanoseconds before Brennan’s shot went in.

The momentum shifted. Mike Doyle breathed new life into Duxbury (14-4-5), tying things with a tip-in off the far post past Michals at 4:51 of the third.

The puck luck continued in overtime, as Doyle saved the Green Dragons’ skin. Off a scramble behind goalie Chris Johnson, Doyle covered the puck with his glove right on the goal line, preventing a game-winner. (The officials did not call a penalty.)

He could not, however, prevent the inevitable, as Michals shut out Duxbury from there.

“I thought our guys left everything on the ice, just like they did all year long, so I thought they deserved a better fate,” said Duxbury coach John Blake. “During the game, we thought we were getting the puck a little bit up high, but (Michals) was covering everything up so we thought going low was the way to beat him.

“(He) was exceptional.”

In the Div. 2 South quarterfinals, Tyler Provost, Matt Campanelli and Tyler Pacheco all scored for No. 4 Oliver Ames (16-4-2) in a 3-1 besting of No. 5 Coyle & Cassidy (15-6-1). . . . Aiden Isberg’s second goal of the game at 1:03 of overtime gave No. 7 Franklin (15-6-2) a 4-3 victory over No. 2 Martha’s Vineyard.